The crypto market is volatile and sometimes unpredictable, but that hasn't stopped thousands of investors from making life-changing money with top projects like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Recently, Ethereum showed strength against Bitcoin, outperforming its gains over the past week with a 6.6% rise, while Bitcoin increased by 5.8%. The fact that Ethereum is starting to gain momentum again has investors wondering: Is this the best crypto to buy now if you had $1,000 to invest?
For some investors, buying Ethereum with $1,000 makes sense, but it could take a long time to see significant gains since it already has a substantial market capitalization. That’s why many investors who believe in Ethereum often prefer to buy smaller ecosystem tokens, such as PEPENODE (PEPENODE).
How Much Would a $1,000 ETH Investment Make You By 2026?
The first step to answering this is establishing an Ethereum price forecast. As such, here are three notable ETH price predictions for the end of 2025:
- •Standard Chartered forecasts $7,500
- •Fundstrat Global Advisors targets $10,000 - $15,000
- •Citigroup considers a $4,300 base target or a bull case of $6,400
Indeed, there’s a wide gap between these forecasts - and these are some of the most reputable institutional players in the space - that reflects the sheer unpredictability of the crypto market. But let’s take the middle ground and focus on Standard Chartered’s prediction.
At Ethereum’s current price of around $4,100, Standard Chartered’s $7,500 target would mean an 82% increase. This indicates that a $1,000 investment today could be worth roughly $1,820 by the end of 2025.
Why Smart Money Traders Are Betting on Ethereum Ecosystem Tokens
There’s no denying that an 82% return in a little over two months is solid, especially when compared to the world of TradFi, which typically has a benchmark target of around 10% annual returns. However, one consideration is that crypto bear markets are more brutal than that of traditional markets, with many tokens experiencing 90%+ drawdowns.
To offset this risk, many investors chase gains well above 80%, sometimes aiming for 10x returns or more in short spaces of time.
Especially in bull markets, smaller tokens can rally far higher than larger-cap counterparts like ETH, creating a more attractive environment for risk-adjusted returns. That’s why smart money traders quite often position in low-cap projects to maximize their profits.
So rather than buying ETH directly, many experienced traders are investing in ecosystem tokens to ride Ethereum’s bullish waves and achieve larger gains. For example, an Ethereum-based project called Humanity Protocol (H) rose 123% in the last week, while Unibase (UB) increased 103%, River (RIVER) gained 71%, and Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) rallied 76%.
But looking ahead, one Ethereum-based token investors believe could have the biggest potential is PEPENODE (PEPENODE), with its use case as a Pepe-themed meme coin crossed with an on-chain game drawing huge attention.
Top Analyst Backs PEPENODE as the Next 10x Crypto Launch
PEPENODE (PEPENODE) is creating the world’s first Mine-to-Earn meme coin. The core idea is to combine Play-to-Earn mechanics with a concept centered around crypto mining. And even more so than traditional crypto mining, engineered token scarcity is hardwired into the PEPENODE ecosystem.
Here’s how it works: users start with an empty virtual server room, and add Miner Nodes to generate mining power and earn rewards. They’ll use PEPENODE tokens to purchase Miner Nodes, and 70% of tokens spent in the in-game store will be burned, creating deflationary pressure that could support long-term price growth.
There will also be an in-game leaderboard, and top players will earn extra rewards in meme coins like Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) and Pepe (PEPE), which could attract a broader audience.
PEPENODE’s innovative approach is generating significant excitement, with over $1.9 million raised so far in its ongoing presale. Moreover, the popular trader Jacob Bury even called it the next “10x potential meme coin.”
Meme coins usually perform well in bullish markets, but PEPENODE’s integration of a fully on-chain, gamified economy sets it apart from its peers and could help fuel disproportionate growth.
However, prices are scheduled to increase as the PEPENODE presale progresses, so investors who haven't bought yet should act fast or risk paying a higher price later. According to its website, the next price increase is scheduled for less than two days from now.